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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Writing Letters And Making New Friends

This has been a crazy month! Our plans have been topsy turvy all month because of rescheduled field trips, last minute trainings, winter break, additional unexpected furlough days and snow days! We promised to send postcards to a class in Florida and I thought it would fit in nicely with our letter writing and post office unit. Unfortunately, all these delays meant we didn't get the letter writing done as early as I wanted and we missed helping our friends who were learning about children from other areas. We decided to go ahead and write the letters, I didn't have the heart to tell the kids we missed the deadline. They were excited to send letters to other children they'd never met.

After we finished and I was going through some of the letters, I was so proud! I think they did a fantastic job! My friend, Teacher Tom, has done some awesome posts showcasing some of his students' storytelling. I thought my friends had worked so hard on their letter writing skills, that I would show off our letters! I'm proud that even though they were dictated, the friends tried to use appropriate structure for letter writing.

Tyler has really been practicing writing his name!

Dear Friends,I'm making this postcard for you. I like to play with table toys at school. My favorite table toy is U-fix (unifix) cubes.Your friend, Tyler

Francie is one of our resident artists. Her art is often detailed and sometimes anatomically correct!

Dear Friends,I like to play in centers. My favorite center is the quiet center.Your new friend, Francie

Anna loves to write and draw. she wanted to write her very own note (with no dictation)!

I Love you! Anna

This is Maya's card. Her best friend is Anna, so she writes Anna's name on EVERYTHING!

Dear Friends,I would like to be your new friend. I like to go to art center and play with the matching game.Your friend, Maya

Adam speaks four languages at home. He has just recently started writing the letters other than "A". We'll work on directionality soon, but for now, I'm impressed!

Dear New Friends,I like to make new friends. I like to play with toys.Your friend, Adam

Ethan's self protrait--so the new friends would know what he looked like!

Dear Friends,I like to play with friends at school. What do you like to play at school?Your Friend,Ethan

Ben was so excited about this project! he usually only writes the "e" in his name, but formed some new letters just for this letter!

Dear Friends,I love You! Ben

Diya writes everyone's name at least once a day! She told me, "I know you have to write who it's from, so i wrote "from" on my card!" She has also perfected her "hearts and wanted to show them off.Dear Friends,I like to go to art center everyday.Love, Diya

Antwan's writing is really coming along. He came to me already reading and has been practicing his writing skills. Notice upper and lower case letters in his name! (He also knew that you should put "those lines" (comma) between "love" and "Antwan". He decided to add two, to make it even better!)

Dear Friends,We are happy we can go outside. we will play in the sun and ride our bikes outside. what do you like to play outside? I like to play in the sandbox.Your Friend,AntwanLove,,Antwan

Lexi drew all her friends AND the pig she really doesn't have, but would like to!

Dear Friends,I like to play with friendsLove, Lexi

Lanie's pretty flower and name.

Dear Friends,My name is LanieLove, Lanie

Max's self portrait. There was only enough room for an "M" and an "A" when he wrote his name!

Dear Friends,Hello! My name is Max. I am 5. My favorite part of school is getting to see my teachers. sometimes I am tired and like to have naptime.Sincerely,Max

Matteo's art and dictation---He's crazy about Superman, so most of his figures are dressed in blue with a red cape!

Dear Friends,I like to play soccer with my friends. what do you like to play?Your Friend, Matteo

Asher has been practicing his hearts, as well. In Pre-K, often directionality is not important to the children as they form letters and shapes.

Dear Friends,I like to play outside on the playground.Your Friend, Asher

Kendall has been drawing hearts on EVERYTHING this month!

Dear Friends,I like to play with new friends.Your Friend,Kendall

Charlie is just learning to grasp the writing instruments. He is really making progress with his name!

Dear Friends,What color do you like? we go to school in Georgia. I lkie to play with Legos. what do you like to play?Your Friend, Charlie

Courtney has been working on her name, too!

Dear Friends,

I live in Georgia. I like to play.Courtney

Joey drew our school so the new friends could recognize it if ever they visited!

Dear Friends,I live in Georgia. I like to play games and I like to play with my friends.Your Friend, Joey

I think my little friends have done an amazing job! I can really tell how their work as matured since the beginning of the year.

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comments:

What a great job they did and how great to be able to have New Friends to write too!! I love the pictures and I really liked how Maya showed her friend Anna how important she was to her by writing her name on her paper. Very cute!!!

About Me

I have been teaching early childhood for about 20 years. I love what I do---it's the best job in the world!!! Where else can you go to work each day and do art, play games, have snack and get hugs regularly AND get paid for it?! I love to share ideas with other teachers and see what they are doing in their classrooms. Teaching is the best profession---we love to share!